Spotlight on Stefani Saintonge

[MUSIC] Your boy was braggin about it in home room today. Hector? Is it true? [MUSIC]. Seventh Grade is about two girls coming of age in seventh grade, and dealing with the an adolescent, and dealing with sex I guess. And, how, what that's like for middle school girls. Stop judging me. I didn't even say anything. When I was in middle school, I remember, you know, for men the stories that are out there from when they come of age is like them being interested in sex. But for women it's they become the sex objects. So I wanted to explore what's that like for women to deal with, you know, becoming like, your body becoming a sex object. I'm not breaking up with him. Come on. What you did was stupid, and talking to him again is also stupid. [MUSIC] I honestly didn't believe it at first. I'm still a little bit in disbelief because this is my first short. This was my first narrative, first fiction, the first time I'm writing something and shooting it. So I don't know, I'm just shocked, really. I'm really happy that it's happening, and I can't, like I really, I don't even believe I'm going, I think that it's probably just not gonna, something's gonna change. This is what Hector and his crew does, even I know that. And, I'm just a dumb ho. It's great to get validation from your own community. Right? That's the biggest thing is you know, it's, I am a black woman, and this is film for black women. It's about black women. So, it's so important to get it from, yeah, this community. And Essence, you know, represents that community very well. So, that's why it's, it's really amazing. [LAUGH] I'm very happy to be a part of it.